'A pristine Caribbean island not yet invaded'

Travel + Leisure

12 Mar 2020By Maura Egan

"Interesting people end up on Bequia," Philip Mortstedt told me over lunch. His father, Bengt Mortstedt, a Swedish businessman based in London, first encountered Bequia while sailing around the Grenadines in 1992. Back then, the place reminded Bengt of "St. Bart's in the seventies" — a pristine Caribbean island not yet invaded by designer shops and oligarchs. He was smitten.

Even after the recent addition of 47 rooms, a yacht for guest charters, and a private jet to pick guests up from Barbados, the resort still has a laid-back, old-school vibe.

Bequia: ‘quiet island’ of the Caribbean

Financial Times

14 Feb 2020By Jan Dalley

Bequia (say: Beck-way) is, I’m told, the quiet island. Not Mustique-starry, nor mass market Barbados sceney, there is a sense of the old Caribbean — working fishing boats along the waterfront in the capital Port Elizabeth, women walking their fruit to market, neat uniformed schoolchildren, churches, goats in the road. It’s already the end of January, but the annual Christmas lights competition, tightly contested between different villages, doesn’t seem to be over.

The old-world tone is set in the reception, where a Reading Room has deep sofas, books, rattan fans gently swirling, all decorated with period leather luggage evoking a bygone era. The cabanas around the pool are jauntily coloured, with hand-hewn wooden fretwork. Rooms have high four-posters draped with filmy white mosquito curtains, quirky antique furniture and objets, old maps on the walls: Caribbean history is all around. With some 50 rooms across the whole estate, this is the largest hotel in St Vincent and the Grenadines yet still feels homey and it’s full of entertaining touches. At the bottom of the outside stair leading up to my room, a soft brush hangs on a peg — for dusting the sand off your toes.

A tiny Caribbean paradise with golden beaches, superb diving and party vibes

The Telegraph online

11 Feb 2020By Fred Mawer

Part of the 32-island nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Bequia (pronounced Beckway) is simply one of the most delightful spots in the Caribbean you can visit on a cruise ship. Covering just seven square miles and with a population of around 5,000, the hilly and verdant S-shaped squiggle has a picturesque natural harbour, unspoiled golden-sand beaches and a wonderfully laid-back atmosphere.

The 50 Best Romantic Getaways

Travel + Leisure

07 Feb 2020By Claire Trageser

Having your own private island is the epitome of a romantic getaway, and this tropical destination gets you very close. At just 7 square miles, with about 5,000 residents, there are no traffic lights, no neon signs, no chain hotels or restaurants, no golf courses, and no gated communities.

Once on the island, you can stay at Bequia Beach Hotel, a tucked-away, family-owned luxury resort.

The best Caribbean islands – our expert's ultimate guide

The Telegraph

25 Jan 2020By Fred Mawer

Best for shooting the breeze: Bequia

Unlike in some other parts of the Caribbean, you never feel hassled by anyone and our island is very safe. Though Bequia is tiny, it’s very cosmopolitan. The guy sitting next to you in the bar may be a billionaire, but you won’t know it because he’ll be in T-shirt and shorts.

There’s a healthy, easy-going interaction on Bequia between locals, ex-pats, land-based visitors and passing yachties. All hang out together at the bars, cafés and restaurants along the Belmont Walkway, a little waterfront strip overlooking Admiralty Bay.

Finding Bequia

Miami Herald

13 Jan 2020By Carol Ann Davidson

Bequia, from the air, gleams like an emerald drop in the variegated blue and green necklace of the remote archipelago Saint Vincent and Grenadines. All seven square miles of it is home to 5,000 people of African, Scottish and Island Carib descent. It's off the beaten track just enough to stave off hordes of tourists, but idyllic enough to beckon adventurous spirits.

Enter Bengt Mortstedt, the jovial Swedish-born former lawyer, and self-proclaimed "accidental hotelier." In the early 1990s he and his family were beguiled by Bequia while on a sailing vacation through the Grenadines. "It was unspoiled, a rugged beauty," he said. While walking the milelong Friendship Beach, a few years later, he spotted a For Sale sign in front of an old, closed B&B. The rest is history. On New Year's Eve 2009 his creation, the Bequia Beach Hotel, was born on nine acres fronting the sea.

Bequia, the Caribbean escape worth getting to know

Boston Globe

27 Nov 2019By Christopher Muther

I started talking about Bequia. With stunned expressions, they humbly asked, “Where’s that?” Truth be told, I also had no idea about Bequia (pronounced BECK-way) when I first heard the name. It’s the second-largest island in the string of 32 islands that make up St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

With a population just over 5,000, it’s an unpretentious place where flights can’t land at night because the tiny airport has no runway lights and the narrow, winding roads have ruts on the sides large enough to swallow up cows. There are no big-chain hotels or over-the-top resorts to be found. There isn’t even a Starbucks. There is one ATM machine on the entire island.

I don’t know if I dare say it, but Bequia is the Caribbean the way the Caribbean used to be. Wait, that sounds like a cornball marketing slogan. Let’s try this: Bequia is an actual escape in an age where it feels as if there are few true escapes remaining on the planet.

After decades of searching I've found the perfect Caribbean paradise

The Telegraph

29 Oct 2019By Sue Lawley

Hunting for the perfect winter hideaway is a bit like waiting for that proverbial bus. You spend years looking and then two come along together. Make no mistake – I’ve been searching in some wonderful places, from South Africa to the Great Barrier Reef, from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean.

But the question has always been “Would you go back?” and the answer has never been a wholehearted “Yes!” Then, early this year, I fell into the tropical embrace of a pair of absolute beauties.

They are a hundred miles apart in the Caribbean: one on the west coast of Barbados, the other on the little island of Bequia in the east Caribbean, one of the tiny dots which form the tail of the kite that is St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Beautiful and uncrowded corners of the Caribbean

The Telegraph

10 Oct 2019By Fred Mawer

Many parts of the Caribbean are developed and thoroughly discovered.

But not everywhere. Tranquil and unspoiled idylls await too. In many cases these take the form of islands to which you can’t fly direct, so involve the trouble and additional expense of a short inter-island hop on a small plane after your transatlantic flight to a main island.

For an easy-going, character-rich little getaway, this Grenadines island (seven square miles, population 5,000) excels in virtually every way. Verdant and hilly, Bequia is exceptionally pretty – Admiralty Bay, dotted with yachts, is one of the Caribbean’s most pleasing-on-the-eye natural harbours. At its rear, the villagey capital of Port Elizabeth is a friendly, hassle-free place.

Bequia Beach Hotel, the best hotel on the island, set on the peaceful Friendship Bay beach.

Stepping back in time on nostalgic Bequia

The Sunday Times

29 Sep 2019By Hunter Davies

I have been going to the Caribbean every year since 1986, and have stayed on more than 30 islands. But my favourite is Bequia.

Part of St Vincent and the Grenadines, it’s less than 10 miles from its sister island, Mustique. The latter is a sort of tropical Hampstead Garden Suburb, with manicured lawns and security fences, whereas Bequia is how the West Indies must have looked in the 1950s, with no mass-market attractions, just real people going about their business: mending boats, fishing and running cafes and restaurants.

Tried & Tested: Bequia Beach Hotel

TTG Luxury Autumn

26 Sep 2019By April Hutchinson

There are few hotels where you could dance barefoot in the sand with the general manager, one who hours earlier had been parading some rather natty tropical beachwear in the lounge bar. But this is no regular hotel, and no run-of-the-mill manager - Bengt Mortstedt is also the owner of Bequia beach Hotel, and his affection for this idyllic tropical island in St Vincent is infectious.

A slice of authentic Caribbean life in Bequia

Toronto Globe and Mail

14 Sep 2019By Heather Greenwood Davis

Today, the Bequia Beach Hotel offers a vintage respite on the edge of the Atlantic in Friendship Bay where mainly repeat, in-the-know clientele tuck in for a week or more at a time. Mortstedt is very much a part of the place, though you'd be hard· pressed to pick him out from the guests - a mix of Europeans, Canadians and Americans - relaxing on the outdoor breakfast veranda.
That kind of interaction is par for the course on the island. There's nowhere, outside of churchgoers on Sunday, where I see anyone dressed in anything fancier than a collared T-shirt and pressed shorts, and most of those are tourists.
But the island offers more than a chance for casual days.
Because tourism has yet to completely overthrow all the local industries, they continue to thrive. At market stalls in town you'll find handmade caftans and tunics from the local ladies at Bequia Threadworks - a social enterprise that launched last year. fruit stand sellers chat easily among themselves and only stop to throw a compliment or two your way.
In the end, I never manage to accept the nightclub invitation, opting to sway to the beach rhythms instead. At night, I fall asleep with balcony doors open, the sound of the waves crashing against the beach and the feeling that I've secured my own piece of paradise far from the madding crowds.

A Beginner’s Guide to Bequia

Islands

28 Aug 2019By Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon

“There are no secrets on Bequia,” I was warned by a local my first evening on island, as she referred to the “coconut telegraph” of gossip that runs rampant through its ruggedly beautiful seven square-miles. However, the second largest of 32 Grenadines itself remains one of the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets, known centuries ago for its whaling and boat-building traditions but today falling largely beyond the well-worn tourist path.

But Bequia’s anonymity has its advantages. On an island where there’s no traffic or daily newspaper, no casinos or mega-resorts, you feel almost like a pioneer in Paradise, a welcome visitor to a destination that’s remote enough to be truly relaxing yet offers so much to do. It only took a four-day visit for me to fall in love with one of my now favorite islands, and, if you go, I’m confident you’ll be equally smitten.

The Best Hotels in the Caribbean

Country & Townhouse

21 Jul 2019By Sue Lawley

Go now, before it gets much busier, and when you do stay at the Bequia Beach Hotel. Standing at the water’s edge on Friendship Bay – surely one of the finest beaches in the West Indies – it’s the vision of a Swedish businessman with a relentless attention to detail and its spacious beachfront suites, garden cottages, classic rooms and smart villas are all furnished with great taste – colonial refinement meets Thirties chic.

The whole place exudes the unhurried, friendly charm that is Bequia’s hallmark. Kick off your shoes and order a cocktail. After a few days you’ll have forgotten how to live in any other way.

The Beauty of Bequia

My Travel Genie

16 Jul 2019By Toni Sharp

There are specks of paradise in this world which become havens of tranquility, where our souls can truly rest and escape the real world. There are places where we feel part of the family from the moment we step foot inside and where even our tears want to leave us and linger when we must leave. A place where you get to sit under the stars watching movies you grew up with whilst eating popcorn from bowls moulded from earth sprung seeds. We have found our slice of paradise at Bequia Beach Hotel.

The World's Most Secluded Honeymoon Destinations

Forbes Magazine

07 Jun 2019By Roger Sands

At just seven square miles with about 5,000 residents, there are no traffic lights, no neon signs, no chain hotels or restaurants, no golf course and no gated communities. Bequia, a sun drenched little island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, offers an abundance of natural beauty, pristine sandy beaches, lush green hillsides and a magnificent harbor filled with turquoise blue waters. Bequia Beach Hotel, a tucked-away family-owned luxury resort, provides a laid-back environment catering to guests who want to truly disconnect and enjoy an authentic Caribbean escape reminiscent of yesteryear.

Dream State

DC Modern Luxury

Unusual Honeymoon Destinations That Are Totally Off The Beaten Track

Vogue.co.uk

05 May 2019By Emily Chan

One of the lesser-known Caribbean islands, and the second largest in the Grenadines, Bequia (pronounced Beck-way) is still relatively untapped, compared to the well-trodden likes of Jamaica and Barbados. Unsurprisingly one for the beach lovers, there’s an array of no-filter-needed white sands: head to the west of the island for two of the best spots, Princess Margaret Beach (where the Queen’s younger sister is said to have enjoyed a swim) and Lower Bay.

Caribbean of old at the Bequia Beach Hotel

Travel Weekly

07 Mar 2019By Gay Nagle Myers

"I'm going to Bequia," I told my daughter Jenn.
"You're going to do what?" she asked.
"Not what — where," I said of the island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which is pronounced BECK-way.
Two days later, I stepped off a nine-seat prop plane onto a runway surrounded by goats on a smudge of an island of lush, green hills flanked by both the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea.
Skimming low over the water to Bequia's J.F. Mitchell Airport, where the sole building had a baggage conveyor that did not work and a friendly immigration officer who wanted to know the temperatures "back where you come from."

Secret Islands You Should Know About Before Booking Your Next Trip

Purewow

25 Feb 2019By Lindsay Cohn

There’s nothing quite like escaping to some far-flung island, unplugging and letting relaxation take hold. That’s exactly what you can expect at these secluded locales around the world. Not for folks looking to shack up at an all-inclusive and limbo alongside fellow wristband-wearing vacationers, these best-kept-secret spots are made for wanderers who prefer the road—er, island—less traveled.
At just seven square miles, Bequia (pronounced "beck-way”) is easy to miss. There are no traffic lights, chain restaurants or big-name resorts. What you will find? Turquoise tides, green hills and a carefree attitude. Sink into vacation mode at the Bequia Beach Hotel.

The Caribbean island that's cooler than Mustique

The Telegraph

29 Jan 2019By James Brown

Just as with most destinations in the Caribbean, Bequia is all about the water, the beaches, the people and the sky. But there’s something about this island of the clouds that is special. International flights can bring you from Europe or America to the big Caribbean destinations, but the connecting flight to Bequia means it’s popular without being overrun.

The hotel is the best on Bequia. When I’ve stayed there previously, the Beatles biographer Hunter Davies has been delivering talks and slide shows about people he has interviewed or ghostwritten books for.

'Beq in time'

Sunday Times Travel Magazine

01 Jan 2019By Nick Redman

While the others on my Boeing 777 from Gatwick were doubtless stuck in Barbados traffic en route to their hotels, I found myself on a 22-seater inter-isle mosquito of a plane, feeling excited to be flying — unconventionally — onwards (the big-name Caribbean destinations are persuasively stop-and-flop). Peeling away from the package crowd, I found remoteness to rival the Indian Ocean — only nicely priced, friendly and bling-free. The two pilots under their teddy-bear-ear headsets badgering the dials, throttling back on the descent to Bequia, scooped with perfectly white bays. No resort complexes here, only red and green corrugated homes peppering the hills of this silhouetted coal lump.
First morning, from the hotel breakfast terrace, the outcrops of the Grenadines were atmospherically peaky; scissor cut-outs of smoky crepe paper on the horizon. Over there, somewhere, was celebrity Mustique, idyll of the late Princess Margaret, keeping it royal. Over here: Bequia with its banana pancakes, keeping it real. Bequia Beach Hotel was made for morning people. By night, Brenton, the bartender, might do a devilish Ocean Blue

Mariella Frostrup returns to her Caribbean childhood stamping ground

The Telegraph online

08 Dec 2018By Mariella Frostrup

We stayed at the Bequia Beach Hotel, a relative newcomer, where we were among a mere scattering of tourists in what’s considered low season, but seemed pretty perfect to us. A series of two-storey bungalows along the edge of the unspoilt mile-long white sand of Friendship Bay, the hotel is a medley of Old Havana style, with rattan chairs, wooden beds and posters of vintage swimwear-clad couples sipping cocktails in Fifties-style resorts. In the poolside bar, a lively local band blasted out the rhythms of the islands

Luxury Hotels with Fashion Collabs We Love

JETSETTER.com

14 Aug 2018By Michaela Trimble

Luxury hotels worldwide are partnering with coveted fashion lines to produce exclusive products for guests. During a stay on one of the most secluded Caribbean islands in the Grenadines, shop Bequia Beach Hotel’s own line of Beach Bums tunics and swimwear.

The Mail on Sunday

23 Jun 2018By Jonathan Agnew

It was the great West Indian commentator Tony Cozier who first steered me in the direction of Bequia (pronounced Bek-way). We were working together while England’s cricketers were taking a hammering in the West Indies on St Vincent some years ago when Tony pointed across the sea to an island whose outline I could just make out. ‘That’s where I always take my holidays,’ he said. ‘But keep it quiet.

We stayed at the Bequia Beach Hotel on Friendship Bay and, with no favour asked or given, I can declare it the best hotel I have experienced in the Caribbean.

The rooms are spacious and the place is spotless, whether you are on the beach, in a private villa or in the gardens, which play host to tiny hummingbirds darting busily from flower to flower. But the reason for my unequivocal statement is that nowhere in the West Indies have I encountered staff like those at Bequia Beach. Their engaging enthusiasm, energy and conviviality is entirely genuine and infectious.

"This is the only option on Bequia"

The Telegraph online

If you want an upmarket hotel with a full range of facilities, this is the only option on Bequia. It ticks all the key boxes: a fabulous beach, lovely grounds, comfy bedrooms and good food.

The little island of Bequia is one of the Caribbean's unspoiled pearls. Bequia Beach Hotel sits directly behind Friendship Bay beach, a 500-yard arc of soft golden sand backed by palms and seagrapes, with a cluster of fishing boats at one end. It's the only hotel by the beach; other properties in the area are mostly private homes. The absorbing views out to sea take in offshore islands, with the outline of Mustique visible in the distance.

Under the Radar Caribbean

Condé Nast Traveller, UK

02 Mar 2018By Antonia Quirke

Less attitude than Antigua, more laid-back than Nevis, Bequia is the small Caribbean island with all the best stories.

On such a small island, a whole cast of faces quickly becomes familiar. Sir James Mitchell, a much-loved former prime minister, who resembles Castro in old photographs and has endless arms that he sweeps all about when telling stories, like a magician about to find a gold doubloon behind your ear. Hunter Davies, the great biographer of the Beatles. And ninety-something Charles Brewer, an American who taught at Yale with Frank Lloyd Wright.

Where to stay: Bequia Beach Hotel
In gardens of red cherry and coconut on mile-long Friendship Beach, this place might well be full but never feels it. You'll always have a wide stretch of beach to yourself. The set-up is gorgeously relaxed.

Mail on Sunday, UK

03 Feb 2018By Hunter Davies

For the past ten years I have told myself that my favourite island in the Caribbean is Bequia. So neat, so nice, so natural, so West Indian, or at least how I like to think the West Indies used to look.

I have decided Grenada is my favourite big island in the West Indies, while Bequia remains my favourite small one.

Spear's 500 Travel Guide 2018

Spear's

01 Feb 2018By Christopher Silvester

Mustique Island’s closest neighbour, Bequia, is also becoming its closest luxury rival in the Grenadines. Hotel founder Bengt Mortstedt is leading the way with Bequia Beach Hotel and a collection of luxury villas in this undiscovered part of the Caribbean.Located on Friendship Bay, the island’s most luxurious accommodation is a post-colonial tropical trove of rooms, villas, penthouses and restaurants positioned between lantern walkways. Service is impeccable, and the staff exude warmth and genuine island authenticity.

#59, The Ultimate Travel Guide 2018

Harper's Bazaar

07 Jan 2018By February Issue

From swimming with eagle rays to dining on freshly caught lobster, you will discover the joys of island life at Bequia Beach Hotel. Built on seven square miles of lush greenery in St Vincent & the Grenadines, the resort has its own nine-seater plane to fly guests over from Barbados' airport, and a charter yacht. The colourful interiors reflect the island's past as an exporter of coffee, rum and indigo, with art deco travel posters and vintage luggage dotted around.

Inside Bequia, the Caribbean’s Best-Kept Secret

Condé Nast Traveler

21 Dec 2017By Emma O'Kelly

If privately owned Mustique is the beauty, and raw, volcanic St. Vincent the beast, then Bequia, with its unfussy charm, is the pretty parlor maid hidden in the shadows.

30 coolest Caribbean hotels

The Times & TheTimes.co.uk

09 Dec 2017By Sarah Turner

Looking on to Mustique, little Bequia offers a gentler, quieter alternative than its neighbour. On Friendship Beach, this 57-room hotel is all verandas, whirring fans and electric pink furniture. The hotel includes two restaurants, as well as a beach bar on nearby Princess Margaret Beach, a yacht and a charter plane to bring guests to the island, with flights from St Lucia and Barbados.

'The Caribbean as it once was': exploring blissful Bequia by superyacht

The Telegraph & The Telegraph Online

24 Nov 2017By Soo Kim

Cradled by the calm, turquoise waters of Friendship Bay, the Bequia Beach Hotel has a real throwback feel, designed with lots of colonial and Caribbean elements.

Beyond the confines of the hotel, guests can explore an island covered in lush greenery and dotted by cascades of colourful traditional wooden houses. Bequia is home to only around 4,300 residents so explorations are hassle-free. The island’s Admiralty Bay harbour is considered one of the most beautiful in the Caribbean; beaches are undeveloped.

But the best way to explore the surrounding area is by yacht or - better yet - superyacht. To complement its private-jet offering, the 113ft (34.5m) superyacht Star of the Sea superyacht can be chartered by hotel guests.

Why we all love the Caribbean: Local Life, Golden sands

The Sunday Telegraph, UK

22 Oct 2017By Fred Mawer

To partake in local life, head to the friendly and unspoilt Bequia in St Vincent and the Grenadines. It has a quant little capital (Port Elizabeth) overlooking a picturesque natural harbour (Admiralty Bay, a popular stopover with yachties), and a good smattering of laid-back bars and decent restaurants. Stay at colonial-chic Bequia Beach Hotel on Friendship Bay, one of several golden-sand beaches.

The 30 most idyllic islands on Earth

The Telegraph Online

20 Oct 2017By Chris Leadbeater

The Caribbean at its most refined. Much like a pop star who only needs one name, Bequia largely disguises the fact that is part of the wider country of St Vincent and the Grenadines, distilling its essence into high-end resorts and a Caribbean take on the Côte d’Azur. Princess Margaret visited often.

Turns out I am a Caribbean kind of girl after all...

Sunday Telegraph, UK

08 Oct 2017By Kate Humble

“Have you ever been to Beckway?” a friend asked. “I think it might be exactly the sort of place you are looking for.” I had never been to Beckway, I was entirely ignorant of its existence. “It’s in the Caribbean…” I pulled a face.

‘It’s very small, not remotely flashy and very relaxed. Nothing like the more touristy islands you are imagining. Google it.” And so I did.

It seemed from the outset that we had found a Caribbean island that felt no compunction to present itself as a carefully fabricated “holiday paradise”, but more “take us as you find us”.

We had, we realised, stumbled on a rare gem, a tiny tropical island that far from surrendering itself to the fickle demands of tourism, has quietly, resolutely hung on to its identity. It is that fact, I think, that ultimately made it such a relaxing and restorative place to be.

Move over, Mustique - Bequia is in the run-up to becoming the new best Caribbean destination

Spearswms.com

04 Aug 2017By RASIKA SITTAMPARAM

I am on a mission to find out why Bequia is better than the others in the vicinity, or why it is quickly becoming one of the best destinations in the Caribbean.
And I’m slowly but very surely charmed, just from a few conversations with the laidback locals.

Boatinternational.com

29 Jun 2017By Sophia Wilson

Less than five minutes away by taxi – though be aware that taxis come in the form of open back pick-up trucks – lies Friendship Bay, home to the colonial styled Bequia Beach Hotel. Set in nine acres of lush tropical gardens, it is the only privately owned and managed hotel to have been built in the West Indies for more than 10 years and is filled with unique touches, from vintage suitcases to a reception desk styled from half a hot air balloon basket. Perched at the top of the property is the Estate Villa, with a private infinity pool and wraparound terrace overlooking the resort’s own glorious stretch of sand. Complete with butler service and a private maid, it’s a perfect land based hideaway.

Mail on Sunday, UK

03 Jun 2017By Hunter Davies

Bequia is my favourite island in the Caribbean – and that’s saying something as, over the years, I’ve visited 32 of them. One of Bequia’s many attractions is that it always feels like the West Indies in the olden days, with real West Indians going quietly and calmly about their real West Indian lives.
It’s a small island, about five miles long, and with only 5,000 inhabitants, but it feels bigger thanks to its winding roads, hidden tracks, wooded hills, marvellous beaches and a spectacular harbour filled with yachts.

Best of both

BOAT International

01 Jun 2017By Sophia Wilson

Are luxury hotels and superyachts a match made in heaven? Sophia Wilson discovers why one Caribbean hotelier has added a classic Benetti to his menu.
I am fortunate enough to be exploring this stunning part of the island chain of the Grenadines on board 34 metre Star of the Sea. The experience is part of a new venture by the yacht’s Swedish owner Bengt Mortstedt to allow guests to combine a stay at his Bequia Beach Hotel with a trip on board the beautifully maintained classic Benetti. “From the hotel’s perspective, it gives guests the chance to experience a taste of the superyacht lifestyle,” says Mortstedt, who has recently moved the yacht across from the Mediterranean. “I also thought it would be a good opportunity to promote the yacht because we are the only superyacht that is based here in the Grenadines.” The new three day trip, combined with a hotel visit, allows guests to take in Mustique, the Tobago Cays Marine Park and Union Island, as well as saving plenty of time to explore Bequia.

BEQUIA: A HIDDEN TREASURE

HarpersBazaar.co.uk

17 May 2017By Loren Lazic-Duffy

I feel I've been let in on a secret, having been invited to a secluded, untarnished land. Bequia, one of the jewelled Grenadines lying 15 kilometres south of Saint Vincent, is a place that feels it should be said no louder than a whisper. It's a secret I'm relieved I haven't promised to keep, as these seven square miles of lush, green island deserve to be seen. A mission supported by the Bequia Beach Hotel owner Bengt Mortstedt who, having brought in his own nine-seater private jet, can now personally transport guests from Barbados to Bequia with lavish ease.

The Beauty of Bequia

Good Things, UK

01 May 2017By Georgina Wilson-Powell

Bequia is everything nearby Mustique is not, although both are part of the Grenadines. Visiting the former is like stepping back in time to when the islands weren't the holiday homes of the super-rich or the winter playgrounds of the European jet set. Here, flat bed trucks and minivans act as taxis, you're just as likely to be greeted at the tiny airport by a pig as by someone holding a sign, and life ebbs and flows like the people slowly moving around the diminutive island, constantly pacing the steep hills and soft bays - always smiling,.

Great escape: Bequia Beach, St Vincent and the Grenadines

Country Life, UK

20 Apr 2017By Emma McCall

As we wind our way across the island, goats trot alongside the open pick-up and reggae music and laughter float in the air above the colourful houses on the road from Port Elizabeth. Here on Bequia (pronounced Beck-way), you are stepping into the unspoilt Caribbean of old—a Barbados of 30 years ago.

Our destination, Bequia Beach Hotel and its sparkly new yacht, appears before us. Sympathetically built across sloped tropical gardens, owner Bengt Mortstedt’s exclusive hideaway runs down onto the white-sand beach. The Swedish businessman sourced the vintage furnishings for the 56 rooms—classic villas, cottages, ocean- and beach-front suites, penthouses and a staffed estate villa—all positioned between lantern walkways, lending a village feel rather than that of a resort. The style is one of colonial elegance and touches such as reception desks made from hot-air-balloon baskets are charming.

A Star Turn

Boat International

With its new 34m Benetti motor yacht Star of the Sea, Bequia Beach Hotel is offering guests day trips to the surrounding islands or three or seven day itineraries around St Vincent & the Grenadines.

Valentine's Day hotels that'll set your hearts aflutter

You & Your Wedding

01 Feb 2017By Hollie Bond

A caribbean island + Valentine’s Day = recipe for romance, and Bequia Beach Hotel in St. Vincent is upping the love ante with its Valentine’s package. Enjoy lazy days on the beach in Friendship Bay, before relaxing with a couple’s massage in the sanctuary of the spa pavilion. The package also includes a chef’s dinner for two at the Blue Tropic Restaurant as well as a boat trip to exclusive Mustique. Where do we sign up?

Hot Hotels and Villas: St Vincent and The Grenadines

The Telegraph, UK

06 Dec 2016By Nigel Tisdall

Only five miles by two, Bequia is a delightful, topsy-turvy island with an old-school vibe where it’s easy to slip into a mellow mood, lunching on fresh snapper, sailing down to the Tobago Cays, taking the local ferry across to mighty St Vincent.

Framed in tranquil gardens, this Swedish-owned four-star resort sits beside the gentle waters of Friendship Bay, with 60 rooms furnished with a nostalgia for the grand old days of travel – the most spacious are the Penthouse Suite Hideaway and the four-bedroom Estate Villa. This winter, the hotel will be running the popular Jack’s Beach Bar on the island’s best sands, Princess Margaret Beach.

Beq-where? Estella Shardlow hops from Barbados to Bequia to find a Caribbean island where sun and chill rule

Escapism, UK

08 Nov 2016By Estella Shardlow

Unlike celeb-packed neighbour Mustique, it has remained thoroughly under the radar. Millionaires reside in its remote pastel-coloured villas and bring their yachts into its bays, but there is none of the ‘scene’ of Barbados, none of the luxury brands – nor a single set of traffic lights, for that matter. Wi-fi aside, locals agree the place hasn’t really changed for 50 years.

Once the rum punch started flowing at Bequia Beach’s veranda restaurant Bagatelle, dinner culminated with guests kicking off their sandals and dancing barefoot on the sand

Retro-Chic Bequia

Sunday Times, UK

11 Sep 2016

The 58-suite Bequia Beach Hotel, with a pool, a spa, a bar, a restaurant and, of course, a beach, is charmingly retro, its interiors unsullied by minimalist design concepts. The result, as with all the best hotels, is that you feel you're at a friend's house, rather than in a holiday facility.

Hotel News

Food & Travel, UK

01 Jul 2016

For a touch of the real Caribbean, look no further than the sleepy island of Bequia, which is just a short flight from Barbados. Relatively undiscovered, calm, lazy days here are guaranteed. The hotel skirts the white sands and coral reefs of Friendship Beach on the east coast, where tropical gardens and lush green hillsides frame it to perfection

A luxurious Caribbean time capsule where they have got the past perfect: Inside the Bequia hotel that keeps you young

Mail on Sunday, UK

18 Jun 2016By Tristan Davies

"This is the kind of hotel where the rich, famous and we lesser mortals can drift in and out incognito"
Bengt, you see, has created a perfect time capsule. By the time you have checked in to one of the 1930s colonial-style rooms with 1950s-style posters, and followed 1960s-style wooden signs to the bar and ordered your first Dark ’n’ Stormy, you’re already feeling 20 years younger.

It’s not just the decor, agreeable though it is. Everything here exudes old-style charisma, a Pathé newsreel picture of how the Caribbean used to be before the big bucks and giant cruise liners steamed in.

Going solo... but not for long: Finding solace and friendships on a Caribbean odyssey

Mail on Sunday, UK

27 Mar 2016By Hunter Davies

I then moved on to Bequia in the Grenadines, my favourite island in all the Caribbean, and stayed at the Bequia Beach Hotel. There I agreed to give a public talk, all proceeds to charity, about my exciting life as a writer.

I was introduced by Bengt, the owner of the hotel, and also Sir James Mitchell, a former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, who remarked to the audience that all three of us had lost our wives in the past year. Statistically, women live longer than men and, as a generalisation, wives are younger than their husbands, so it was an unusual coincidence.

Yet the three of us were from different lands and cultures – Bengt is from Sweden, James from the West Indies and I’m British. Oh, the bonding we three chaps were able to do afterwards over dinner.

Where to travel in 2016: Caribbean Calm

Daily Mail, UK

02 Jan 2016By Mark Palmer

The little island of Bequia is part of the Grenadines, but has its own take on life. Relaxed, unpretentious and something of a throwback to the Caribbean of old, long before the likes of Simon Cowell started hanging out in glitzy Barbados.

Port Elizabeth, the capital, is a magnet for yachties and from this season you can walk all the way from the town past Princess Margaret beach to Lower Bay, one of the world’s most perfect beaches.
HOW TO DO IT: Just Bequia (justbequia.co.uk) offers seven nights at the Bequia Beach Hotel

The 21 hottest hideaways

Sunday Times, UK

04 Oct 2015By Chris Haslam

Some say “be-queer”, others say “bekwia”, but the right way to pronounce the name of the hippest island in the Caribbean is “bek-way”. Old-money Mustique lies to the south, new-money Canouan even further so, but there’s a bit of a no-money vibe to sleepy Bequia, which remains one of the least developed islands in the Caribbean, or did until the Swedish entrepreneur Bengt Mortstedt set out to build the kind of hotel he wanted to stay in. The result is Bequia Beach Hotel, one of the finest boutique establishments in the Caribbean — 60 rooms of laid-back retro chic in tropical gardens beside the beach at Friendship Bay.

Island paradise, please, Captain — and hop to it

Sunday Times, UK

04 Oct 2015By Martin Hemming

We’ve written a lot about Bequia in Travel. My colleagues have already exhausted the best adjectives. So I’ll just rather prosaically say that it’s great. Don’t miss Princess Margaret Beach, where she probably got drunk, and where we watched a class of adorable primary-school kids having a swimming lesson. And treat yourself to a lobster pizza from Mac’s (from £22). We stayed at the swish Bequia Beach Hotel, where the barbecue-night band did bravely take on Lady in Red.

Drift off to Bequia, the island of clouds

Evening Standard UK

25 Sep 2015By Amol Rajan

Most people who bother much with the subject know that the idea of a “perfect Caribbean island” is a centuries-old delusion. These glorious places are so varied in their cultures, customs, cuisines and curiosities that they ought never to compete in the same race. For all that, there are islands that answer more or less ideally to the demands of travellers for West Indian sun, sea and all that’s in between. And it is true that the island that might do it best is Bequia.

On a Wednesday night, a fantastic reggae band called Solutions, from St Vincent, created a very Caribbean scene, as genders and generations united on a sandy dancefloor to the sound of Jimmy Cliff’s The Harder They Come — Mortstedt leading the revelry himself.

You should go to Bequia before everyone else does. A long-delayed international airport is due to open on neighbouring St Vincent by the end of this year, potentially altering the course of the sleepy Grenadines. And then when everyone else does go, you can say you went before they did. It has an exquisite climate, outstanding beaches, delicious food, lovely locals, an ideal size, affordability and that Dylan-esque quality of being in a state of becoming.

Put to the test: Barbados vs Bequia! A fortnight of Caribbean luxury to discover which idyllic island is the best

Mail on Sunday, UK

31 May 2015By Hunter Davies

I said I was never going to Barbados again – 29 consecutive years was quite enough, thank you.

Bequia, the little Grenadine island a short hop away, was my new Caribbean love.

In Bequia, there wasn’t anywhere classy to stay, so over the years I moved around, but now there is the Bequia Beach Hotel on Friendship Bay. It is so artistic, yet efficient, with rooms bigger, and more stylish, than those at Cobblers Cove, yet mostly cheaper. Like Cobblers, it appeals to the discerning. No vulgar TVs in the bedrooms. I should think not.

Hmm, I seem to have made Bequia the winner – by 34 points to 29. From now on, should I just go to Bequia?”

Top 10: The best boutique hotels in the Caribbean

The Telegraph, UK

27 Apr 2015By Fred Mawer, James Henderson and Nigel Tisdall

Bequia is a pretty, topsy-turvy island with a long tradition of boat-building, whaling and taking it easy. Built by a genial Swedish lawyer and his family, the 60-room Bequia Beach Hotel in Friendship Bay is an easygoing mini-resort with colourful wooden cabanas by the pool, retro travel posters in the bedrooms and a sheltered sandy beach bordered by spacious gardens. If you want a relaxed and modern hotel set on a sunny island with charm and character, look no further.

Bequia: The Caribbean’s best-kept secret

The Independent, UK

01 Jan 2015By Dan Gledhill

Bengt’s baby is now a sophisticated but charming mini-resort with restaurant, bar, swimming pool, gym and spa tucked into one of the island’s prettiest stretches of coastline, Friendship Bay. So far, so typically Caribbean. But Bequia is far more than just a beautiful island in the sun.

What stands out, you eventually realise, is the absence of billboards for Coca-Cola and the like. Bequia has resisted the Americanisation that blights much of the Caribbean. Port Elizabeth is more bohemian than bling. You can close your eyes and imagine the time Bob Dylan spent here 30 years ago watching his 70ft schooner, Water Pearl, being built by the best of Bequia’s shipwrights. He often sailed it around the island but it eventually sank after hitting a reef off the coast of Panama.

Before I leave the island, Bengt explains to me: “Bequia is one of the few true old-style Caribbean islands left, not commercialised and sparsely developed. Has it changed since I came here? Maybe there are fewer old sailors in the bars. But not much besides.

Notes from a Small Island

The Arbuturian, online

01 Jan 2015By Lucy Shaw

Like a snapshot frozen in time, the island of Bequia is how I imagine the Caribbean used to look before tourism took hold in earnest. Meaning “island of the clouds” in ancient Arawak, Bequia has a rugged beauty and rough around the edges charm that separates it from the pristine perfection of neighbouring Barbados and St Lucia.

After an interminable carousel of trains, planes and automobiles, my home for the next three nights is Bequia Beach Hotel, run by a sandy-haired Swede called Bengt Mortstedt, a local legend known to the islanders as “Mr. Bengt”

My aim was to build an old fashioned beach hotel that doesn’t exist anymore. I want my guests to have the feeling of stepping back in time to a more elegant era of travel. I’m in the industry of imagination – I sell dreams,” says Bengt of his rose-tinted vision.

My spacious room overlooks the ocean. From a distance, the wooden thatched umbrellas lodged in the sand look like the ones you’d find prettifying a Piña Colada. The sea is an urgent shade of aquamarine and the pace of life tortoise slow. So slow in fact, that it forces you to modify your urban impatience. After a day or two the knots begin to loosen and the need to stay connected loses its relevance.

The warm, friendly of gold of the island of Bequia

The Times, UK

27 Dec 2014By Amanda Linfoot

Looking out to sea from Friendship Bay, on the island of Bequia, Mustique sits squarely on the horizon. This is the Grenadines — not short on fabulous vistas — but this scene is particularly appealing: blue sky, sea twinkling in the sunlight, a holiday island that radiates glamour.

The Bequia Beach Hotel makes a handy base because it’s only five minutes by car from Port Elizabeth. More than that, it’s refreshingly individual. It’s the labour of love of a retired Swedish property developer called Bengt Mortstedt, who fell for tranquil Friendship Bay in 2004 and dreamt of building the sort of hotel he would want to stay at. So forget notions of the identikit resorts that pepper the Caribbean, with their naff, floral soft furnishings: the Bequia Beach Hotel is a triumph of tasteful cream interior design.

Bequia has a warm, friendly heart of gold. Please don’t change. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

Big times on the little islands – To find the coolest parts of the Caribbean, you need to downsize. Vincent Crump grabs a beer by the bay in itty-bitty beautiful Bequia

Sunday Times, UK

12 Oct 2014By Vincent Crump

I am staying at the island’s standout hotel, Bequia Beach, the only one with resort pretensions, which sunbathes in flower-filled gardens behind Friendship Bay. It has half a mile of superlative sand to itself, a singing waitress named Bridget and suites arrayed with jazz-era posters and mahogany umbrella stands.

It pulls off the unlikely trick of being luxurious but homely, and is possibly the only five-star Caribbean resort where your room comes with a cat. She’s called Diva, and the staff quietly place her water bowl under the steps of whichever guest she takes a fancy to. This week, it’s me

SVG, as habitués know it, has upped its game, from chic stays at Sugar Reef Bequia, Cotton House and Bequia Beach Hotel. Nigel Tisdall checks in

Financial Times, How to Spend it

01 Mar 2014By Nigel Tisdall

St Vincent and the Grenadines sounds like the sort of colourfully shirted band that played in the days when a party meant taffeta frocks, tombolas and gin and it. In fact, it’s a sprinkling of 32 islands that runs south between St Lucia and Grenada, which for the past half century has been one of those bit-of-a-slog-but-worth-it spots to which the Caribbean cognoscenti like to slip away.

Royalty and rock stars, hippies and done-okay chippies, beachcombers and old salts – plus a winning mix of hairdryer-hot breezes, terrific sailing, ridiculously turquoise waters and friendly “Vincys” – have made SVG, as its habitués know it, a magnet for escapists and eccentrics.

10 islands to love–none in the latest TripAdvisor list

Los Angeles Times

24 Feb 2014By Christopher Reynolds

#2. Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This is a tiny Caribbean haven, just 7 square miles. I got there on a Windstar cruise 17 years ago and found myself sharing a beach with more goats than people. Yacht people and divers, however, are big fans of the place.

7 Caribbean Islands You’ve Never Heard Of But Should Visit

Huffington Post

20 Jan 2014

Bequia – The Grenadines are mentioned quite a few times on this list and there’s reason why. The islands are popular among yachters, have (mostly) great beaches and are further south than some people might want to schlep for a week getaway.

First up is Bequia, which has the most protected natural harbor in the Caribbean). This tiny island in the Grenadines is a great under-the-radar destination for divers, boaters and beach goers alike (one of the more popular spots is Princess Margaret beach, named after the actual real-life princess).

The Beatles in Bequia: Dancing to the Fab Four on the sands of a Caribbean hideaway

Daily Mail, UK

22 Dec 2013By Hunter Davies

Bequia is my favourite island in the Caribbean – small but perfectly shaped and perfectly balanced. But in the 20 years since I first started coming here, I have never found the perfect hotel – until now.

I headed for the newly completed Bequia Beach Hotel. And goodness, did my cup overflow. And not just with rum punch, but with delight.

Soon after entering this luxurious and ever-so-tasteful boutique hotel, I was thrilled to join in a whole evening dedicated the The Beatles. It’s amazing, isn’t it?

Caribbean: Great boutique hotels in holiday packages

Daily Telegraph, UK

What a little charmer! Kicking back in Bequia, the tiny island with a big heart

Daily Mail, UK

15 Nov 2013By Mark Palmer

After three nights at Sugar Reef we move to the Bequia Beach Hotel on Friendship Bay, where a couple of years ago Swedish lawyer Bengt Mortstedt let his heart rule his head and built a 60-room resort that most people at the time thought was an act of folly.

But guests are returning for a second or third year, staying in plush ocean-view rooms or in cottages spread around the eight-acre site. It’s the only big hotel on the island.

A tale of two Caribbeans: Blissful in Bequia – and Barbados on a holiday of real contrasts

Daily Mail, UK

15 May 2012By Hunter Davies

Bequia is just 50 minutes from Barbados, but it is a world away. There are two flights a day from Barbados, so it’s clear why Bequia is not quite yet a mass tourist destination.

The big attraction of Bequia is the magnificent harbour and the little town Port Elizabeth, strung out around the bay with loads of bars, cafes, shops and little ginger-bread guesthouses. So much to see and wonder about.

Sunday Times 100 / Tropical Luxury’ – “Better than Mustique

Sunday Times, UK

29 Jan 2012By Stephen Bleach

Mick Jagger’s favourite haunt is the most exclusive island in the Caribbean, the stuff of tropical dreams. Well, I’ve been to Mustique, and you know what? It’s not all that. Big houses, sure, but Lord, it’s dull.
Just across the water, tiny Bequia is loads more fun, with great beaches, friendly people and a little bit of real Caribbean life — Mustique feels more like Surrey. There’s a smart little place to stay, too. The Bequia Beach Hotel is new, but in colonial style, right on Friendship Bay. You don’t need Jagger’s cash to enjoy it, either.

Four of the best small affordable Caribbean Hotels

Daily Telegraph, UK

03 Dec 2011By Francesca Syz

The Eastern Caribbean island of Bequia (‘island of clouds’) may be only a 20-minute boat ride across the bay from Mustique, but it offers a more authentic slice of Caribbean island life, where real local people live, as do a smattering of discerning expats (Anthony Eden lived here for a few years in the 1950).

The Swedish entrepreneur Bengt Mortstedt has developed Bequia Beach Hotel from two existing hotels, and the result is a property with friendly service offering a contemporary take on colonial Caribbean architecture, influenced by the stage designer Oliver Messel, who built some of the first villas on Mustique. Set within tropical gardens, the hotel sits on one of the island’s loveliest beaches, in the residential neighbourhood of Friendship Bay.

Bequia: is this the perfect Caribbean island?

Daily Telegraph, UK

02 Apr 2011By Fred Mawer

I have been fortunate enough to visit many Caribbean islands over the years, and every one has had a flaw. Much of Barbados, for example, is overdeveloped; parts of Jamaica can be scary; Cuba is hard work; St Lucia has few good beaches; Antigua’s hotels are mostly isolated; St Barts is too flashy; Anguilla’s interior is scruffy…

Finally, however, I have found an island that’s hard to fault. It’s called Bequia (pronounced bekway), a green and hilly S-shaped outpost of the Grenadines, nine miles south of St Vincent. Here’s why, in my opinion, it’s almost perfect.